Ron Charles's Reviews > Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir in Love Poems, Letters, Recipes, and Remembrances

Kwame Alexander, a celebrated writer of books for young adults, presents a sweet and raw account of his path to adulthood in “Why Fathers Cry at Night.”

“This is not a traditional memoir,” he confesses at the opening. “These are just snapshots of a man learning to love.” But it’s more than that — and more artful, too. Interspersed between family recipes and a number of his moving poems, Alexander describes his demanding father, his own two failed marriages and his challenges with his daughters.

He also traces the surprising route of his literary success, which began by self-publishing more than a dozen books.

Among the memoir’s many treasures is a funny section about his long-running feud with the poet Nikki Giovanni, who knew nothing about his acrimony until after it faded into friendship.